A Grey Area
by Charmedlife
Summary: Parker Halliwell had always lived in the shadow of the Charmed Ones, but when a new boy appears, she may have to save the world all by her self. Action, suspence, romance, magic. What more could you want?
1. the beginning

1**Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or any characters except for Parker Halliwell, or her dissolving power.**

**A Grey Area**

"Dammit!" Piper yelled, as the potion she had been working on suddenly exploded in a shower of sparks. She was knocked to the floor by the force of the blast. Potion splattered everywhere. The whole room was covered in putrid, green goo.

"Everything alright in here?" Paige called into the kitchen. She appeared in the doorway a few seconds later. "God! What is that smell?" She walked over to Piper, who was still sitting on the floor, and offered her a hand. She took it gratefully and stood up.

"It was supposed to be the Vanish Demon vanquish, but, as you can see" she said gesturing around the room. "I did something wrong."

"Need any help cleaning up?" the younger witch asked her sister.

"Yeah. That'd be great." The older witch replied, brushing herself off.

"Potion!" Paige commanded, and with a wave of her hand, all of the disgusting, green liquid disappeared in a swirl of white lights, only to reappear in the pot on the stove. Piper walked over and turned the burners off.

"Thanks." She said thankfully as she crossed over to the counter and began to vigorously chop up a bundle of Laurel Leaf.

"Hey, hey, hey. Slow down there sister." Paige cautioned, walking over to her sister, and grabbing her hands. "You don't want it to explode again, do you?" Piper put her head in her hands, and sighed. A concerned look flashed across Paige's face. "What's been wrong with you lately?" she asked, putting her hands on her older sisters shoulders. "You've seemed distracted for the past couple days."

"It's nothing...I just..." She sighed again, then went back to chopping the herb, a bit slower this time. A girl appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"What happened in here?" Parker asked, walking into the kitchen, and holding her nose as she smelled the disgusting potion. "Have you been vanquishing demons without me again?"

"We do that all the time," retorted Paige matter-of-factly. "But no. Miss Congeniality over here was trying to make the vanquishing potion for the Vanish Demon, but...well..."

"Yeah," her younger sister finished for her. "And I had to clean up her mess. Again." Parker sent her Aunt a laughing grin, and looked around the kitchen again. She spotted a small, green glob sitting on the floor near the basement door.

"Oh, mom," she said, almost condescendingly to her mother. "You missed a spot." The young witch waved her hand at the mess, and it dissolved.

"Parker, sweetie," Paige half glared at her daughter in disappointment. "You really should be using your Whitelighter powers more often."

"Mom, please," Parker scoffed at the concerned look on her mother's face. "I'm fine, perfectly Good. I just think that power's...better than just orbing it somewhere. Besides, all the other powers I use are Good." '_Man. You go fully insane for a few hours, and they never let you forget it.' _Once, when she was five, Parker had gotten mad at her mother for making her eat broccoli at dinner, and went on a rampage, dissolving everything in sight. It was a mess. They had to tie her to a chair for the rest of the night, until it passed. Everyone was a bit nicer to her after that.

"I'm just worried about you, that's all," Paige stated, a concerned note in her voice. She walked over to her daughter and put her arms around her. I don't want you to turn evil. It just seems like you've been a bit meaner lately. And your Orb has been getting darker. Don't think I haven't noticed." This was true. Parker had noticed it too, and it was beginning to worry her. That was why she had opted not to do any orbing in front of her mother, but this had obviously not worked. She decided to keep up the charade anyway.

"I'm fine. I swear," she lied. She could tell her mother didn't really believe her, but she didn't say anything.

"Alright," Paige released her daughter from the hug, and stood back, to look her in the eye. "Just promise me that you'll do more orbing, and less dissolving, okay?"

"I promise," Parker said, smiling. She decided to change the subject. "So now that I have you both here..." she goaded, coating her voice with sugar, and putting on her sweetest smile.

"Uh-oh," Phoebe said walking into the kitchen, and joining in the conversation. "What does she want this time? Wait! Let me guess. A car, right?" she finished jokingly.

"No," Parker retorted coldly, maybe a bit too coldly. She realized this, and wondered if she really was turning evil, but quickly dismissed it. "I was just wondering if...maybe, um...I could help with all the, um...demon stuff around here?" She looked expectantly at her guardians.

"Parker, honey," Piper sympathized. "We've talked about this. You're still too young"

"I'm fourteen!" Parker exclaimed indignantly. "That's almost sixteen, which is almost eighteen, which is nearly twenty-one, and that's–"

"We know how old you are," her mother cut her off. "It's just that fourteen is too young to be fighting demons. You have to wait til you're at least...sixteen."

"But mom!" Parker protested. "With all my lessons at Magic School, and everything I've picked from being around you guys for the past _fourteen years_, I think I can handle it."

"You're too young," Paige finished sternly, ending the conversation. "You can't do it and that's final. I'm going to Magic School." She orbed out. Parker watched as she disappeared, then she stormed out of the kitchen.

"I'm going out!" she called back over her shoulder. She grabbed her coat from the coat rack, put it on, and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

"Wha-but-ahh-" Piper sighed, realizing that it was too late to stop her. "This is all Paige's fault."

"Should we try to go after her?" Phoebe asked, a note of concern in her voice.

"No," her older sister replied. "She can take care of herself. Let's just hope she doesn't kill anyone."

Parker had been walking around for a while. She didn't really know where she was going, she just had to get out of the house. She didn't even know why she was so mad. She had asked this question a dozen times, and got turned down every single time. This was no different. As she pondered over this, a scary looking man appeared in front of her. Parker jumped in surprise, then screamed as she realized it was a warlock. He began to walk towards her, an athumae raised above his head. She turned around, and tried to run, but another warlock had blinked in behind her. She looked around and saw that warlocks were appearing all around her. One stepped forward.

"Ready to die, witch?" the warlock smirked maliciously. He advanced on her, athumae raised, but he suddenly pitched forward. Using her quick reflexes, Parker dodged out of the way of the diving warlock, and stuck out her foot. He fell flat on his face. The befuddled witch looked back at where the warlock had been. A boy was standing there, not much older than Parker, his hand smoking. Parker looked down at the warlock. The trip had been pointless. He was already dead, a scorched hole in his back. Parker took a few steps backward, not knowing weather this boy was friend or foe. She raised her fists, ready to defend herself. There was a small series of metallic-sounding pops, and all of the warlocks disappeared. Parker was still staring at the boy. _'He doesn't look evil...'_ she thought to herself. The boy noticed the look on her face.

"Don't worry," the stranger reassured her. "I'm a friend." Parker was not convinced, but she lowered her guard anyway.

"What are you?" she asked cautiously. "Because that looked really demonic."

"Relax," the boy answered lightly, though his face was still stern. "I'm not a demon. Just citizen." Parker studied the boy's face. There was no expression.

"You know, I could've taken them." Parker said, a know-it-all look on her face. And for the first time, the boy smiled. It was an unsettling kind of smile. More of a smirk that a smile. It scared her.

"Oh, really?" he said, the corners of his mouth twitching. Smiling was obviously a new expression for him. "Because it looked like you could use the help." His smile got wider. He had never smiled this much before. There was just something about her...

"So, what's your name?" Parker asked the boy politely.

"Hunter," the boy said shortly. Parker was getting the idea that he wasn't very talkative.

"Well, Hunter," Parker said, almost seductively. " I have to go home now, but maybe you would want to stop by a little later."

"Sure," Hunter agreed, a little taken aback by the offer, but happy nonetheless.

"Great!" Parker exclaimed, trying to hide her emotions, but failing. "I live at 32 Prescott Street. Stop by anytime you like."

"Alright," Parker's newfound friend said. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye." Parker walked out of the middle of the street, and hid behind a tree. After making sure that no one was looking, she orbed out.

Parker materialized in the foyer, just in time to be splattered by demon guts.

"Ugh!" she groaned, shaking her hands, and splattering the disgusting goop on the already saturated walls. "What the hell was that?!" Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were standing together in the entryway, spell in hand, each splattered with their own share of demon aftermath.

"We got the Vanish Demon!" Piper cried hopefully.

"I can see that." Parker crossed over to the stairs. "And now, I have to go take a shower." She began to walk up the stairs.

"Hey!" her mother yelled after her. "So do we!"

"I'll be out soon!" the teenager called back at her from the top of the stairs. She walked down the hallway, towards the bathroom, dripping sticky, green goo on the hall carpet. She walked into the bathroom, and closed the door. She turned on the water, and began to undress. Then she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" she asked through the closed door.

"It's me," answered Piper's muted voice from the hallway. "Can I come in?"

"Uh...yeah, sure." Parker grabbed a towel from the rack on the back of the bathroom door, and wrapped it around her bare torso before opening the door. "What is it?"

"It's just...something the Vanish Demon said, right before we vanquished him," Parker noticed the worried look on her Aunt's face. She frowned, and walked out into the hall, closing the door behind her.

"What?" she asked concernedly.

"He said," Piper recounted, recalling the demon's words. "The young one will soon die, then so shall you all."

"Well we get threats from demon's all the time –"

"This was different," Piper insisted. "There was something in his eyes. I think there is someone after you."

"Well as long as I stay with you guys, we can take on any demon," Parker said, a bit more confidently than she felt. She thought back to the boy she had met earlier. Hunter. _'Maybe he is a demon.' _she wondered. _'But if he were a demon, why would he have saved me? He could've just let me die. Well, maybe he isn't a demon, but there's still something about him.'_

"Just promise me you'll be careful." Piper said, snapping the young witch out of her thoughts.

"I promise," Parker reassured her. She pulled Piper into a quick embrace, just to prove her point, then she turned around and walked back into the bathroom. She turned around to face her Aunt, who was giving her a concerned, and doubtful look.

"I will," she promised, leaning on the doorway. "Really."

"Alright, I'll leave you to your shower," Piper walked over to the stairs, and stepped down two steps. "Just, make sure you're out soon. I think your mother is starting to get high off her own smell." She grinned, and when she received an answering smile from Parker, she walked down the remaining stairs. Parker closed the door, took off the rest of her clothes, and stepped in the warm, welcoming shower.

When Parker walked in the kitchen, hair wrapped in a towel, she found her mother, and two aunts having what seemed like a very important discussion.

"What's up?" she asked briskly. She was feeling clean and refreshed from her shower, and was very perky as a result. Her slime covered guardians looked solemnly over at her. She raised an eyebrow at them, seeing their serious faces, and realizing that this was not the time to be perky. "Something wrong?"

"Oh," Piper replied, trying her best to keep on a happy face, though something was obviously wrong. "It's nothing. We were just deciding what to do about this new demon."

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..." Paige added wryly. Parker smiled at her mother. She was always making witty comments like this. Even when things looked grim, she always managed to find the funny.

"Well I'm tired of sticking to myself every time I put my arms down," Phoebe announced, walking over the doorway, and leaning on it. "So I'm taking my turn now." She exited the kitchen.

"So you're sure someone's after you then." Parker said, trying to get caught up.

"Not us," Phoebe corrected. "You."

"But why would they be after me?" she asked. "You guys are the powerful ones. I'm just the little girl who follows you around, and watches. I'm not even aloud to vanquish demons..." she added, hoping to catch them off guard and get them to say yes. It didn't work. All she got was and exasperated look from her Aunts.

"We figure that they think you're the key to us," Phoebe explained. "They know we'd do anything to save you, so..."

"If they get to me," Parker said, connecting the dots.

"Then they get to us," Piper finished for her. "So we need you to be really careful."

"Like not talking to people you don't know,"

"And being in contact with at least one of us at all times." The two women stared at the girl. "Got it?"

"Yeah I got it," Parker replied, with a look on her face that seemed to say _'DUH!' _ A swirl of blue-white lights appeared in the corner, and Leo materialized. Everyone looked at him. Piper smiled warmly.

"Leo," Piper greeted him. "What's u–"

"Shhh!" Leo shushed, a finger at his lips. He was looking around expectantly. "There's a Darklighter after me." Everyone turned around, expecting to see a man appear at any moment. They were not disappointed. Not two seconds after Leo arrived, a small clump of dark lights appeared in the kitchen door way, and a very menacing look man stood there. Before anyone could react, he shot an arrow out of his crossbow directly at Leo. But before it could reach him, it dissolved. The Darklighter look baffled, but before he could figure out what had gone wrong with his master plan, Piper blew him up. Paige fixed her daughter with a withering stare.

"Sorry," Parker apologized with a nervous laugh. "Reflex."

"What was that all about," Piper asked, the question directed towards her husband.

"He tracked me," he explained. "I was in Paris, with one of my other charges, when he showed up and tried to kill me. I got away, but he followed me."

"So you brought him here?!" Paige questioned angrily.

"Well you are the Charmed Ones," Leo reasoned. "You deal with stuff like this every day. I figured one little Darklighter would be no problem." He had a point.

"You're our Whitelighter!" Parker's mother protested, even though she knew he was right. "You're supposed to be protecting us. Not bringing us our recommended daily allowance of Demon!" Leo rolled his eyes, and sighed.

"So since when do Darklighters follow you home?" Piper persisted, still curious.

"I don't know," Leo said defensively. "But the Elders think that something big's about to happen. The Underworld is stirring." Just then, four more Darklighters orbed into the kitchen. Four crossbows fired, all pointed at the various Whitelighters around the room. Piper froze the them all, along with the ones who fired them. Paige, Parker and Leo each stared at the arrows suspended in front of them.

"That was close," Paige sighed in relief, whipping her brow on her sleeve.

"Too close," Piper said suspiciously, pulling the arrows out of the air. "What the hell is going on here. The last time we were attacked like this was..."

"Right after we vanquished the first Source," her youngest sister finished for her.

"So, what," Parker asked. "The Source is back?" She knew she this was bad news, but in a way it kind of made her excited. She had always wanted to see the Source. All she had seen so far were low-level demons and darklighters. It might be nice, just for once, to see a really powerful evil... She quickly snapped herself out of her thoughts, when she realized what it was that she was thinking. _'I really gotta start Orbing more.'_ she said to herself, as she listen to what Piper was saying.

"Maybe the factions are reforming," Piper thought aloud to the group. "I mean, just because there hasn't been a new source in," she stopped to count out the years in her head., and to blow up a Darklighter. "Fifteen years, doesn't mean a new one can't pop up tomorrow."

"Um, mom?" Parker asked warily. "What would've happened if that arrow had hit me?" She had often wondered this. There had been so many almost deaths in the house that it had got her to wondering. A second Darklighter exploded "I mean, I'm mostly Darklighter, aren't I? Would it even effect me?"

"I don't know," her mother answered thoughtfully. "Probably just your Whitelighter half would die. And then you would become fully evil and kill us all."

"We gotta keep this girl a away from Darklighters." said Piper, as a third Darklighter disappeared in a puff of smoke. Leo looked up at the ceiling.

"They're calling," he explained.

"Do you know what it's about?" Piper asked.

"No," her husband said. "But it sounds urgent."

"Alright," she agreed reluctantly. "We'll call you if you need anything." The Whitelighter walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek, before disappearing in a swirl of blue and white lights.

"And don't bring home any more Darklighters!" she called after his retreating orbs.

"I should probably go too," Paige sighed. "Never a dull moment..." Her voice faded out, covered by the sound of her orb. Parker looked around at the almost empty kitchen, shrugged, and disappeared herself. Piper looked toward the other living thing in the room. The frozen Darklighter. She walked over to the counter and leaned her elbows on it, and glanced back at the Darklighter. He died, in a particularly nasty explosion, and left a rather large scorch mark on the wall behind him. The witch sighed, lowered her head to the table, and began to rap it on the surface.


	2. family issues

1**A.N.: Well, another day, another chapter. Actually it's like another year another chapter. Sorry it took so long to post. My lappy was being all weird and funky like. And I'm just a really slow writer so bear with me. Thanks for the reviews. It makes me feel loved (Wow, that's really pathetic). And Lossien; What the crap are you talking about. You're making me really confuzzled. Oh well. Keep on keeping on with the reading, and I'll keep on writing as fast as I can. And so, without further ado, CHAPTER 2! **

Chapter2

Night had fallen over the Halliwell manor, and mostly everyone as asleep. The only one still moving was Parker. She was up in her room, sitting up in bed, reading.** (AN: Piper and Leo sleep in the master bedroom, Phoebe is in hers, Parker is in Paige/Prue's old room, and Paige is in the old Nursery.)** It was a particularly large book. The Book of Shadows. She had never really looked at it before, because she had never really needed to, but with this "New Threat" in town, she felt she should brush up on her demonology. As she flipped through the book, she came upon a picture. A picture of a very familiar looking boy. Her eyes narrowed as she moved her face closer to the Book. In big, bold letters across the top of the page was the word, "Danowar." It was Hunter. Her mouth hung open, though she didn't notice. She read on. "A very powerful Warlock, who steals powers," _'Well, duh!' _Parker though to herself. But then the rest of the sentence caught her eye. "But he doesn't steal them from witches. He steals them from Upper-level Demons, and other Warlocks." _'Wow.' _she stared at the sentence in front of her in amazement. _'That's different.'_ She stared at the picture again. It looked like Hunter, but it couldn't be. It just couldn't. He was a good guy. He had saved her. A powerful Warlock wouldn't have saved her. Although the Book did say that he only stole the powers from Demons. Maybe he only saved her so he could get that Demon's power. But no, she was attacked by Warlocks, and this guy only steals demon's powers. Or maybe he just wants powers, where ever they come from. And that fire-throwing thing had looked demonic. Maybe this was him after all. _'If only there was a way I could hear his thoughts when he stops by later. Then maybe I could be sure...' _Her thoughts brought her back to a story Piper had told her when she was a little girl, about something she and her would-be Aunt Prue had done. They thought their boyfriends were demons, so they cast a hearing-thoughts spell, to, well, hear their thoughts. Piper found out that her boyfriend, Dan, wasn't a demon, but Prue wasn't so sure about hers. His thoughts were all about burning dead body's and stuff. She later found out that that wasn't her real boyfriend, but his twin brother, who was a mortician. Parker had found it funny at the time, and it still brought a smile to her lips when she thought about it. But it had given her an idea. She stuck a piece of paper from her dresser between the pages, to bookmark it, then flipped through the Book, briefly skimming the titles at the tops of the pages as they flipped past, until she came to the page she was looking for. The young witch got up from her bed, and walked over to her dresser. After rummaging around in her drawers for a few minuets, she found what she was looking for. She pulled a table over to her bed and placed the candle on top. Using a random match she had found on her dresser, she lit them. She walked back over to the book, and slowly recited the spell.

_As flame lights shadow_

_And truth ends fear,_

_open the locked box_

_to my mind's willing ear._

_May the smoke from this candl_e

_into everywhere creep,_

_bringing innermost voices_

_to my mind in speech._

_'Did it work?' _she thought to herself. _'Hey, I heard my own thoughts. Oh, wait, I could always do that_.' Parker smiled at her own blonde moment, but a voice from the doorway quickly wiped the smile off her face.

_'Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do,'_ It wasn't a voice, it was a thought. Parker whirled around to face the doorway, and saw her mother. She had a very accusatory look on her face. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Parker would've added a 'But Ricky!', but it didn't seem appropriate. All she could do was put on a half innocent, half guilty look, and fold her hands in her lap.

"So who's the guy?" Paige asked with a slight grin.

"What makes you think there's a guy?" Parker retorted indignantly. "I'm not you, mom. Not everything I do is about a guy." Paige was about to get mad, but she realized it was true, so she walked over to the bed, and sat down.

"So," she repeated. "Who's the guy?

"If you must know," Parker said with an exasperated sigh. "His name is Hunter. I met him today on my walk."

"And do you like him?"

"Yea. He's nice, sweet, good looking..."

"Ok," Paige replied, raising a quizzical eyebrow. "So, then why the spell?"

"Well," She began. She had hoped she wouldn't have to tell her mother about the Warlocks, but now it seemed as if she had no choice. "After I left the house, I got attacked by Warlocks. A whole group of them. But then–"

"You were attacked by Warlocks!" Paige interrupted her daughter before she could go on. "And you didn't tell me this why!"

"Because I knew you'd react like this!" the teenager shot back. "Now will you let me finish!"

"Alright fine," a perturbed Paige agreed. "Go on."

"Thank you," Parker said sarcastically. "So anyway, all these Warlocks appeared, did the whole, 'Ooh look at me! I'm evil! I'm gonna kill you,' bit, and I thought I was doomed, but then Hunter showed up. And he saved me."

"Saved you?" Paige cut in doubtfully. "How could a kid take down a Warlock?"

"Well that's kinda the reason for the spell," Parker continued cautiously, as if expecting punishment for what she was about to say. "See, the big, scary Warlock was about to attack me, but then... Hunter threw fire at him." she finished quickly. Paige sat in silence for a while, as if pondering over her daughter's last statement.

Finally she said, "So why would a demon save you?"

"My thoughts exactly," Parker answered, glad that her mother was still speaking calmly. "So I asked him about it, and he says he's not a demon."

"But if he's not a demon," Paige reasoned. "Then why can he throw fire?" Parker couldn't answer this, but the book had a suggestion.

"While I was flipping through the Book, I found this." She found the bookmark, slipped the tips of her fingers into the pages, and opened it. There was the picture of Hunter, looking back at her. "That's him, or at least his picture. But I can't believe what it says can really be him. He seems so nice."

"Yeah, well you know what they say about books and their covers." Paige retorted, in her usual witty manner. She pulled the Book closer to her, and began to read. After a minuet or two, she looked up. "So this is why you said the spell, to find out if he's a Warlock?" Parker nodded sheepishly. It seemed kinda silly now, to even question if he was evil. He was right here, in the Book. That was undeniable proof. But still, she held onto this one last shred of hope, that this was just some Warlock that looked like Hunter.

"Honey," Paige said, putting a comforting hand on Parker's knee. "I can understand wanting to believe he's good, but the Book has never led us astray before. Now he may be good, he may be evil, but all the same, I think it's best if you don't talk to him anymore, just until we can figure this out."

"That might be kind of hard," Parker said. "'Cause I invited him over to the house." She put on an innocent smile, and shrugged her shoulders. Paige got up, with an exasperated sigh, and walked over to the doorway.

_'Good night, troublemaker,' _Paige thought to her daughter.

"Night, worry wart," Parker answered aloud with a smile. Paige looked back at her, and returned her smile, before leaving the room. The young witch leaned forward towards the table, and blew out the candle. She closed the book, and put it on her bed stand, and turned out the light. As she got into bed, and pulled the covers up around her chin, she thought of all the things she could do with this spell. All the fun she could have.

_'Tomorrow's gonna be fun,'_ she thought to herself, and drifted off to sleep.

"Did she take the bait?" a shadowy figure asked dramatically.

"Yea," Danowar answered proudly. "She took it alright. I was even invited into the Halliwell Manor."

"Excellent," the figure said flatly, rubbing his hands together maliciously. "My plan is coming along perfectly. I can only hope you don't screw it up." From the shadows, a pair of eyes gleamed red, their gaze directed at the Warlock.

"Relax," he replied confidently. "This is a piece of cake. I'll have no problem making her... 'see our views.'"

"You better, and soon," the shadow shot back, with an air of superiority in it's voice. "I am very looking forward to meeting her."

Parker awoke to the sound of voices. Loud voices. Yelling voices, from downstairs. She pulled back the covers, got out of bed, and walked to the door, the bed-covers trailing behind her. As she got to the stairs, the voices got louder, and she saw Piper cross the landing, and storm into the living room, Leo at her heels.

"We knew this would happen sooner or later!" Leo yelled to his wife's retreating back.

"Well yea!" Piper argued whirling around to face him. "But I was thinking of later. Like when we're eighty, and way too old to fight demons, not now!" A tear sprouted in the corner of her eye. "Leo we still need you."

"I know," he said, walking over to Piper and hugging her close. He put his lips to the top of her head. "And I don't like this anymore than you do, but this is what has to happen. I'll still be around, just not as much." Parker, who had been watching this scene from the top of the stairs, descended to the bottom.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Her answer came immediately.

_'I'm not your Whitelighter anymore' _No one had opened their mouth. Parker was confused, until she remembered the events of last night, and the spell. After she understood how she had heard it, it dawned on her just _what _she had heard. Leo opened his mouth to answer her question, but before he could say anything, she rushed over to the hugging couple, and threw her arms around them.

"But why?" she asked sadly.

"Parker, honey," Piper said, confused. She pulled away from the group hug to face her niece. "We didn't say anything." Uh-oh. Busted. Parker had hoped that no one would have to know, except her and her mother. Oh well. Might as well tell them.

"I kinda cast a truth spell," she explained quickly, hoping they would miss it. They didn't.

"You what!" Piper shouted.

"I cast a truth spell, okay!" Parker yelled back. "But that's not the issue here!" She turned a sad face to her uncle. "Why aren't you our Whitelighter anymore?"

"Because I'm becoming a full-fledged Elder," Leo said in his usual, passive manner. Parker was confused. Piper cut rudely in on their conversation.

"Hey, you don't get to tell me what the issue is here!"

"I thought you were already an Elder,"

"Well I am, but I'm still a Whitelighter. Now I'm just going to be an Elder."

"But you'll still be able to orb in all the time, right?" Parker asked hopefully.

"Real Elders can't orb. They don't really have any active powers." he explained.

"Well that sucks," Parker said flatly. "Why would you want to give up all you have as a Whitelighter, just so you can sit up in the clouds all day doing whatever it is you Elder-folk do?"

"Because part of being an elder is knowing everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. And the other Elders have decided that it is time for me to know that, so I can help more in the battle against evil."

"Yea, but even if you see the bad things coming, you won't be able to do anything about it, because you won't have us." she reasoned.

"Parker, there's nothing to discuss," Leo said in a way that meant the conversation was over. "Your new Whitelighter will be here in a couple of days."

"But we don't want another Whitelighter," Parker protested in one final vain attempt. Leo looked at her with a look that said 'There's nothing I can do, it's out of my hands.', shrugged, kissed Piper, and orbed out. The stranded wife let out an exasperated sigh, and walked into the kitchen. Whenever there was something wrong, Piper always headed straight for the kitchen. The grandfather clock in the foyer struck twelve. _'Oh my god, I'm late!' _She ran into the living room, and over to the corner. There she found her pride and joy, her bass guitar. It was beautiful. Five string P-special. It had been a birthday present from her mother. She put it in its case, slung the straps over her shoulders, and headed for the door.

"I'm leaving for band practice!" she called over her shoulder.

"Okay,' came Piper's voice from the kitchen. "Dinner's at seven."

"Okay!" And with that she walked out the door.

Getting there was a pain. It was hard to peddle a bike with a five pound, awkwardly shaped bass on your back. The garage where Parker's band practiced belong to her best friend Jack. They had known each other practically all their lives, and were together almost every day. There was something else that made them close. Jack knew Parker's secret. He was the only person she told, and at first it had wierded him out. But now he was okay with it. Though he only lived a few blocks away, the trip seemed forever on a bike. When she finally got there she was out of breath, and ran into the open garage panting.

"Where were you!" the other three people in the garage said in unison. Jack was standing in the middle, tuning his guitar. And Alex and Sam were sitting on the couch. Parker was the only girl in the band, but she didn't mind. She was used to it.

_'God she's beautiful,' _Parker heard from somebody's thoughts, but she couldn't tell who's. A frown grew across her forehead.

"I slept in," she answered defensively, and suspiciously. "Sorry."

"I was starting to get worried," Jack said with a wry smile. Parker shot him a 'whatever' look and walked over to the corner. She took her bass out of it's case, slung the rhinestone-encrusted strap over her shoulder, and began to tune.

"Let's just get started."

Alex and Sam got up and walked over to their instruments. Alex played drums, and Sam played piano. A real piano.

"I started writing a new song last night," Jack began. He waked over to a table and picked up some sheet music. "It's not done yet, but you'll get the idea." The music was passed out, and put on stands. Once everyone was ready, Jack struck an A minor cord. It sounded very depressing. Then he began to sing, and everyone chimed in with their respective parts.

_"I can't believe these words you said to me that night alone."_

He had a great voice. You couldn't tell how good a singer he was by looking at him. He was kind of tall and stickly looking. Some might even go as far to say 'nerd', but anyone who knew him knew better.

_"Your words can hurt my feelings but your eyes turn me to stone." _

Parker had had a crush on him in the fifth grade, back when he was a lot shorter, and she was still in regular school, not Magic School. She had even almost kissed him once, at their school Halloween party. He had been perfectly okay with it, but she had stopped short. Now he was just a friend to her. But everyone knew that he still liked her. Everyone, that is, except Parker.

_"And now I stand here, alone and helpless. These feelings of discontent. I know exactly what you said, but I don't know what you meant."_

The rest of practice went pretty well, with only a few minor arguments. Jack's mom popped in a few times, offering cookies. They were politely refused. Jack's mom was a terrible cook, but no one had the heart to tell her. At six o'clock Parker packed up and left, waving good bye to all her friends. Since the trip back to the Manor was mostly downhill, she coasted most of the way, and was back in a few minuets. As she walked in the double-doors, she saw something that made her heart skip a beat. Hunter was standing in the foyer, being interrogated by her mother and aunts.

_'Oh great,' _she thought to herself, as she propped her bass against a wall, and went to rescue the boy.

"Hi honey," Paige said sweetly. "We were just getting to know your friend here."

"I can see that," she snapped back, walking up beside Hunter. "I'm really sorry about this." she said to him. He seemed to perk up as she talked to him.

_'She smells good,' _came the thought from his mind. Parker raised her eyebrows at this. She was surprised, but not offended. He smelled nice too. And not at all demonic. That was good. She shot her mother an accusatory look.

"Will you three please join me in the kitchen," she said as nicely as possible while trying to control her anger at them. "We'll be right back," she smiled to hunter before walking over to the adults and half-guiding them, half-pushing them into the kitchen.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" she seethed at her three shocked guardians. Unnoticed, an apple in the fruit bowl on the counter dissolved.

"Honey, calm down," her mother pleaded, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Remember the broccoli," Parker almost laughed at this, but quickly remembered how mad she was, and regained her mad-face.

"I don't care about the frickin' broccoli!" she screamed back. She could feel the anger starting to take over. She tried to stop it, but it was too late. Her eyes turned red, and she was just about to go fully medieval on her mother, when Hunter walked in. She immediately changed back to normal, and whirled around to face him.

"Hunter," she said as sweetly as possible despite what had almost happened a few seconds ago.

"Just came to see if everything was alright in here," he explained, taking a look around the room.

"Oh yes, everything's fine," Parker lied to him. "Could you just go back in the living room and I'll be right in."

"Ok," he agreed somewhat reluctantly, and returned to the living room.

"Now," she continued briskly, turning back to the three women. "I am going back in there, alone. And when he leaves we are going to have a long talk about this," And with that, she exited the kitchen, and went to have what she hoped would be a very pleasant conversation with Hunter.


	3. a not so mysterious stranger

**Well it's finally here, CHAPTER 3! Yay! (Insert shouts and applause here.) Yes I realize it took three years for me to write it and it's really short, but it's not my fault. The whole world is conspiring against me. My laptop officially died a while back and is still not fixed. And I HAD MY B-DAY! YAY! I love being a teen. Anyway, I've been writing this chappy on the family computer, and my SISTER keeps using it. I HATE YOU AMANDA. YA I KNOW YOU HEARD THAT WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT HUH? YEA THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. Anyway, without further ado, I bring you, the lovely and hyperbolic CHAPTER 3!**

Chapter3

Hunter sat coolly on the couch in the living room, his arm slung over the back. Parker walked in through the kitchen entrance, and sat down next to him.

"So," she said as nonchalantly as possible. "I see you've met my family."

"Yea," he sighed. "They're very... interesting."

Parker laughed. "Yea, they are." There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Parker clicked her teeth, while Hunter rocked back and forth on his cushion.

"So–"

"Uh–" they started at the same time. This was followed by a few chuckles, and sighs.

_'God this is uncomfortable.' _Parker heard from Hunters mind.

"So...uh, listen," he continued. "About what happened yesterday,"

"Yea, I was just about to ask about that,"

"Listen, I'm not a demon if that's what you were thinking."

"Yea I know. You're a Warlock."

_'Dammit, she knows.' _Parker was beginning to think maybe he was evil. She shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"Ex–Warlock." he corrected. Parker was a little shocked at this. Was it possible to be an ex–Warlock? She had never heard of it before.

"What do you mean, ex–Warlock."

"I mean, I used to be a Warlock, but then I quit." he explained, though none of this was making sense to Parker.

"So, you can just quit being evil?" she asked hopefully. Maybe he wasn't evil after all.

"Well it's not that easy." Hunter said. "I mean it's not like you can just snap your fingers and 'poof!' you're not evil anymore. It's a long, hard process. Takes a very long time."

"How long?" Parker asked cautiously. She had heard of the longevity of Warlocks, and was afraid of the answer.

"Well, it took me, I'd say, about two-hundred years." This was what she had been afraid of.

"Exactly how old are you?"

"Well, it's hard to keep track," he answered, looking up, as if to find the answer on the ceiling. "But I'd say about three-hundred, give or take."

_'Great_,' she thought to herself in defeat. _'I like a guy who's older than my great-grandparents.'_

"So then why do you look, like, my age?" she inquired

"Well, because this is what I looked like when I became a Warlock." he explained. Parker raised an eyebrow at him.

"Became a Warlock?" the young woman questioned. "You mean you haven't always been one?"

"No," he replied as though the accusation hurt. "I used to be human, until the Source recruited me and turned me evil. But now I'm human again."

"Well you're obviously not very human," Parker shot back. "Because most humans I know, can't do what you did to that Warlock yesterday. Exactly, what did you do to him?"

"Well, you're a Witch. You kill Demons every day. You understand."

"Yea, but it's different." she corrected. "When I kill Demons, it's for the greater good. When you kill them, it's just so you can get their powers."

_'Damn, how does she know all this stuff about me?' _Parker heard from his mind. _'It must be that Book of hers. I'll have to get rid of that.'_ Parker was on an emotional rollercoaster. 'He's evil, he's not evil. He's evil, he's not evil.' It was driving her insane.

"Well, when I kill Demons, it helps the greater good too." Hunter retorted. "Getting their powers is just a happy, little side-effect."

"Whatever." Parker sighed in defeat. There was another awkward silence. Finally, Hunter decided to speak.

"Well, I should probably go." he said, to Parker's dismay. He got up to leave, and she was just about to do something to stop him, when he turned around.

"Listen," he started cautiously. "If you ever wanted to, I dunno, do something sometime. I'll be around." And with that, he walked out the door.

_'Did he just ask me out?'_

Paige, Piper, and Phoebe rushed into the living room from their hiding place behind the kitchen door. Paige hurried over to her daughter and tried to give her a huge hug. A very confused Parker pushed her away, but to no avail. She eventually gave in, and let her mother hug her until her face turned blue, and she finally shrugged out of her grasp.

"What was that for?" she asked confusedly, rubbing her bruised rib.

"She's just happy for you." Piper explained, as she sat down in the chair facing the couch.

"Happy?" Parker said quizzically. "What for?" Something suddenly dawned on her. "Have you three been eavesdropping?"

"I ain't been dropping no eves sir. Honest." Paige joked, quoting Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings.** A.N (Just in case you didn't know.)** This received a laugh from everyone in the room except for Parker, who was still mad at the sisters for interrogating Hunter, and now for listening in on their conversation. She was doing her best to keep her anger under control, after what happened just a few minuets ago.

"Did you seriously think we would stand in the kitchen and not listen?" Phoebe asked in disbelief. "Just remember to be careful, dating a Warlock and all." Parker raised her eyebrows at this last warning.

"First of all, I'm not dating him," she corrected. "And second of all, I don't think I should be taking any dating advice from you miss 'I'm gonna marry the Source of all Evil!'

"She's got you there." Piper pointed out amusedly, a grin on her face. Phoebe threw up her hands in defeat.

"All I'm sayin'." A timer went off in the kitchen. Piper got up from the chair and head for the kitchen door.

"Dinner's in five." She called back over her shoulder, as she pushed through the door.

"So when's the big date?" Phoebe asked, settling into the now empty chair.

"I don't know," Parker answered with a sigh. "He kinda' left it open."

"He's afraid of commitment." Phoebe answered knowingly. Parker gave her an evil look.

"Would you two quit analyzing this!" she half screamed. The two women stared dumbfoundedly at her, as she continued. "I'm going to wash up for dinner." And with that she stormed out of the living room, leaving two confused witches in her wake.

Parker spent the next few days thinking about Hunter. She took a walk around the neighborhood every day, hoping to run into him, but she had no such luck. She even thought of summoning a demon, to see if he might come to save her. But one night, while sitting in her room, looking at his picture in the Book of Shadows, she thought of a better idea. It was so simple, she didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before. _'I can just summon him.'_ She took the book up the attic, and put it on its pedestal.

"Magic forces, Black and White, reaching out through space and light. Be he far or be he near, bring me the Warlock Danowar here."

At that exact moment, the Warlock Danowar was in the underworld, speaking with his master.

"What is it you would have me do?" he asked to the cloaked figure. "I'm moving as fast as I can. This is a very delicate operation."

"Yes I know that!" the figure barked. "But I need you to speed things along; we're running out of time."

"I have others duties as well." Danowar argued. "We have to keep up appearances. We can't risk anyone finding out what—" He never finished his sentence, for just then, he was swept up in a swirl of white lights.

He reappeared in the attic of the Halliwell Manor. Looking around to get his bearings, he came face-to-face with Parker. He jumped in surprise, wondering what Parker was doing in the underworld, until he realized where he was and things started to make sense.

"Parker," he said cautiously, still confused with why she summoned him. "What am I doing here?"

"I summoned you because I want to answer your question." she answered with authority, though she had over-excited butterflies in her stomach that were making it hard to keep a smile from breaking out on her face.

"Oh," he breathed to himself, as his heart fluttered. He immediately wondered why. "So…?"

"Yes." she answered quickly, breathing a sigh of relief with getting it over with. "Yes I'll 'do something sometime.'"

"Well how 'bout we make it a little less general," he suggested, switching into flirt mode. "Say, Saturday?"

"Saturday would be wonderful." she beamed, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"Great," Hunter exclaimed. "I'll be by around seven, okay?"

"Alright." She said, silently rejoicing.

"So I'll see you then," Hunter said with finality. He waved playfully, and then blinked out. As soon as he was gone, Parker set the smile free, and did her little happy dance before rushing to her room.


	4. The Big date

**Well, here it is. Chapter 4! I realize it took forever, but I finally have my laptop up and running, and will probably be able to post more regularly now. Hopefully. Sorry for the three million year wait, and I hope you loyal readers haven't lost interest of forgotten about me. Hope you like it!**

**Chapter 4**

It was Saturday afternoon, and Parker thought she might burst from anticipation. She had been hopping around the house, and driving her family crazy all day. They had finally convinced her to pop over to Magic School. (Even though it is summer vacation.) Once she got there, she found her friend Erika in the library.

"Hey Erika!" she called across the large hall, rushing over to the shelf where her friend was standing.

"Hey Park!" Erika yelled back, putting away the book she had been reading, and began to walk towards the other girl. As they reached each other, they exchanged a hug. "Long time no see."

"Yeah," Parker agreed. "Too long. So, whatcha up to?"

"Just studying." Erika explained. "Been going to summer school, and I got a giamungo test tomorrow.

"Oh, sorry to disturb you."

"Oh, no. I could use the distraction, so what've you been doing these past couple months." She asked, sitting down in a chair at the table next to her. Parker followed her example.

"Just regular stuff." Parker admitted truthfully. "Band's doing pretty good, we might have a gig sometime soon and it'd be great if you'd come."

"Sure, just give me the when and the where and I'm there."

"Hey, that rhymed."

"Yea, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it." The two friends laughed at this, both realizing that it wasn't really all that funny, but they didn't care. When the laughing finally stopped, Parker decided to bring up a new topic of conversation.

"So, seeing any new guys lately?" she asked with a mischievous look on her face. Erika grinned at her, but finally gave a very exaggerated sigh.

"Oh, no, still having no luck in that department. Ever since Jamie…" She let the sentence die away. Jamie had been her boyfriend for three years. They seemed so in love, Parker had thought they were going to get married, but a few months ago Jamie had decided to cheat on her, and she ended up breaking up with him. She hadn't had a boyfriend since, or even a date for that matter, even thought Parker had been trying to hook her up with every guy in the school.

"How 'bout you?" Erika said, bringing Parker out of her thoughts.

"Yea actually," Parker admitted sheepishly. "I have a date tonight."

"Ooo!" Erika exclaimed in girlish excitement, her previous deject ness forgotten "Anyone I know?"

"Actually, no. I just met him. But you probably wouldn't approve."

"Oh, really?" the other girl asked with a sly grin. "A 'Bad Boy' is he?"

"In a manner of speaking…" the young witch said, trying to avoid the subject of Hunter's past.

"And that manner of speaking is…?" her friend inquired, wondering what Parker didn't want to tell her.

"He's a Warlock. Well, Ex-warlock." She blurted out quickly, waiting for her friends reaction. It was not good.

"WHAT?" she yelled, jumping up out of the seat she had been sitting in. "HE'S A WARLOCK?"

"Shhhh?" Parker shushed her, pulling on her arm, forcing her back into her seat. She looked around the large library, hoping no one else had heard her friend's outburst. She was not that lucky. The few other people in the library, including the rather stern looking librarian, Mrs. Higgins, were staring in their direction. Parker ignored them, and went back to her conversation with Erika. "Ex-warlock." She corrected her.

"Does that even matter?" Erika asked, somewhat calmer, but still extremely worked up over the whole situation. "He killed people, Parker. He's evil."

"Was evil." The girl persisted, though some part of her agreed with Erika. He had killed people. He had been evil. But he wasn't anymore, maybe…

"So let me get this straight," Erika said slowly, considerably calmer now. "You knew he was a Warlock…Ex-Warlock, and you still said you'd go out with him?"

"Yea…" Parker confessed apprehensively. "You'd see he wasn't bad if you met him."

"Of course I would, it's probably part of his power. Making you believe he's good, just so he can kill you on your date." Erika half-yelled, her voice rising. "Well I'm sorry if I just don't believe that it's okay for my best friend to be dating a Warlock."

"I'll be careful, don't worry," She reassured the worried witch, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. As she did so, she glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh my god! I have to go get ready." She stood up from the chair she had been sitting in, and faced her stubborn friend. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." And with those reassuring words, she orbed out.

At seven o'clock, Parker Halliwell was standing in front of the foyer, wearing her fourteenth outfit of the night, and waiting somewhat patiently for Hunter to arrive.

"So, where are you two going?" Paige asked, walking out of the kitchen.

"I don't really know," Parker answered truthfully, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "He didn't say. I suppose he wanted to keep it a secret."

"Or he doesn't know." Her mother said under her breath, but Parker heard her anyway.

"Why do you hate him so much?" she asked angrily. "It's not like he's ever done anything to you."

"Well he is a Warlock." Paige answered.

"Ex-Warlock! God, why can no one get that right! He used to be a Warlock, and now he's not! Is that such a hard concept to grasp!" she corrected, now screaming.

"Yea, Honey. It is. Once you're evil, it's always there, inside of you, trying to lure you back." Her mother retorted, keeping her voice under control.

"What about Cole! Huh! He was evil, and then he was good!" As soon as she said this, she realized the flaw in her argument. "Okay, so maybe he's not the best example, but you know what I mean."

"Honey, Sweetie," Paige coaxed, realizing what was about to happen. "Calm down, Hunter's going to be here any minuet, you don't want my dead remains all over the floor when he gets here." At the mention of Hunter, she immediately calmed down, the argument forgotten, and went back to worrying about the date. A smile worked its way across Paige's face, as she watched her daughter pacing back and forth across the floor, biting her nails. A few minuets later Piper and Phoebe rushed into the room. Piper was holding a Polaroid camera.

"First date pictures!" the two sisters shouted in unison.

"Oh God," Parker moaned piteously, taking a break from her pacing and nail biting to slap her forehead with the heel of her hand.

"Now, get over by the door," Phoebe instructed happily.

"Do I have to?" the teenager whined.

"Oh, come on." Piper pleaded, her face looking way too perky. "Grams did to us, and now we get to do it to you."

"Okay, fine." Parker relinquished. "But make it fast, he should be here any minuet." Fifteen minuets and several rolls of film later, Hunter was sill not there. Parker was about give up and just summon his ass, when there was a knock on the door.

"That's him!" Parker stated in an excited whisper. "Everybody out!" She ushered the three women into the kitchen, with orders to stay there until she was gone, walked back to the door, straightened her skirt, and opened the door.

"Hi, Hunt—" she began, but her face instantly fell, when she realized it wasn't Hunter standing at the door. It was Wyatt, her twenty two year old cousin. "Oh it's just you." Wyatt was somewhat startled by this greeting.

"Whatever happened to 'Hi, Cuz, how's it going'?"

"Hi, Cuz," she said unenthusiastically. "How's it going?" Upon hearing her son's voice, Piper had rushed out of the kitchen, followed closely by her two sisters.

"What's up with her?" Wyatt asked, as he was pulled into a big hug by his mother.

"Oh, she's just mad you weren't her date."

"Ooh, a date?" the man asked in his best girly voice, which wasn't very good. "First date, eh?"

"Yea, and he was supposed to be here a HALF AN HOUR AGO!" she yelled at no one in particular. "Why didn't you just orb in?" she asked disdainfully.

"Because," he answered in a voice that meant that he was about to launch into a big speech. "Something wonderful has happened to me today, and the news is too important for me to just orb in causally."

"Well," Paige asked. "What's the news?"

"You all remember Heather, right?" he asked rhetorically. Heather was the girl he had been dating for what seemed like the past ten years, but it had really only been two. In those two years, Parker hadn't spoken to her much, but Wyatt talked about her so much, she felt as if Heather were her best friend.

"Yes," the three sisters answered in unison.

"Well," he continued, dragging it out for dramatic effect. "I asked her to marry me today, and she said yes." He finished with a flourish. A big chorus of "Oh my God"s and "that's wonderful"s broke out, ending in a big group hug, that even Parker joined in.

"So when's the wedding?" Phoebe asked, after the hug ended.

"We haven't really set a date yet," Wyatt explained. "But we're shooting for somewhere towards the end of fall."

"Fall?" Piper exclaimed. "That's only two months away! That's hardly any time, and there's so much to do. You have to pick a hall, and Heather needs a dress, and you need a tux, and who will be your best man, and—"

"Mom," Wyatt cut in. "We already have a few halls in mind, Heather is going dress shopping on Tuesday, I can use Dad's tux, and obviously Chris is going to be my best man."

"Yes but what about—" Piper began, but was cut off again by the ringing of the doorbell. Paige, who was closest to the window, looked out at the porch.

"He's here." She reported. Parker's eyes instantly lit up, and she began waving her hands frantically at the four adults. "Out, now!" They all instantly began to protest.

"But I need to take more pictures!"

"Why don't you bring him so we can talk?"

"He is a Warlock; we really should get to know him better before you go off with him."

"Ooh, can I meat him?"

"NO!" Parker screamed at all of them, and managed to slip out the door, and onto the porch, without them following her. Hunter was slightly taken aback by her sudden entrance, and took a step back to keep from colliding into her.

"Hi," he greeted her, holding the flowers he had brought out to her.

"Thanks," she said quickly. "They're beautiful, you look great, I'm really excited about tonight, and if we don't get out of here in like the next three seconds, you'll be attacked by a strange man, and three insane women."

"Um, okay…" Hunter agreed, allowing himself to be pulled by the hand off the porch. They ran down the street a ways before stopping by a large oak tree planted in the sidewalk.

"So…" Parker began. "What are we doing tonight?"

"Ah…" Hunter began mysteriously. "Well that's for me to know and you to find out." And with that, he grabbed her hand and blinked them both out.

They reappeared in a somewhat burned out looking warehouse. It was dark, and dank, and very creepy looking. After waiting a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, and then another few seconds to take in her surroundings, she turned to Hunter who was still holding her hand.

"What are we doing here?" she asked slowly.

"That's the surprise." He answered cryptically. "Follow me." He led her by the hand across the dirty floor, and into a rickety wooden elevator.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked again, somewhat scared as he closed the door with a loud thud. He pressed a button, and the lift thundered to life, rising slowly upward.

"Just be patient." He replied, still avoiding the question. He walked over to her, and took her by the hands. An incredible feeling rushed through her. "Don't worry," he reassured her. "It's safe. I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He gave her hands another comforting squeeze, as the elevator suddenly stopped. Letting go of her hands, Hunter walked over to the elevator door and pushed it up. He walked a few steps out onto the floor, before turning back to Parker, who was still standing apprehensively in the corner of the lift.

"It's okay," he coaxed. "Come on." Parker walked somewhat reluctantly out of the elevator, and, taking Hunter by the hand, allowed herself to be led through the maze of boxes and pipes that littered the floor.

"Hunter, why won't you just tell me where—" She never finished her sentence, for at that moment, the two of them walked out onto a balcony, and she realized why they were there. "Oh my god…" she whispered, turning to face him. "It's beautiful." Set up on the balcony was a small table for two, draped in a bright red tablecloth. On the table was a small candelabrum, with two lit candles in it. On the plates, was the most delicious fried chicken Parker had ever seen. There was also a bottle of sparkling white grape juice, and two wine glasses. Hunter walked over to one of the chairs, and pulling it out, gestured for Parker to sit down. Dazed by the wonderful way everything was going so far, and wondering how she ever thought this boy could be evil, she walked over to the chair, and sat down. Hunter pushed it in for her, then walked over to the other side of the table, and took his own seat.

"So…?"

"It's…" Parker replied, awed, trying to think of the right word.

"Perfect?" Hunter offered cockily. "I try." He gave Parker him a playful smile. "Chicken?" He asked.

"Yes, please." Parker answered readily. All of the waiting and worrying had made her hungry.

"Leg, thigh, breast?"

"Leg, please." He handed it to her, and she took it greedily. She took a big bite, and it reminded her of something she had had before. "It's delicious."

"KFC's finest." He said, as if reading her mind. He gave her a nervous chuckle, and she answered with one of her own. He took a piece of chicken, and both began to eat in nervous silence.


	5. some other stuff

**Here we are again. Another chapter. And It may be my last one for a while. I'm going to be taking a hiatus from this story to write another one on fictionpress. My pen name is A.D. Halliwell. You may read it if you wish. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, and hope you like it.**

**--Adam. **

**Chapter 5**

"I can't find them." Phoebe whined in defeat.

"Then why don't you stop trying?" Paige asked rhetorically, beginning to become somewhat annoyed with her sister.

"But this isn't a good sign." Her older sister persisted. "They shouldn't have dropped off the radar like this. I think we should—"

"I don't care what you think." Paige cut her off rudely. "We just have to trust that if she gets into trouble, she knows to come home. I mean we know she can handle herself."

"True." Phoebe agreed. "But I still think—"

"Oh just drop it." Piper bounced cheerily into the attic, humming a little tune, and giving her sisters a big smile.

"God," Paige said reverently. "What's got you so perky?"

"Oh, I don't know," Piper answered airily. "I guess it's just this whole thing with Chris getting married." After saying this, her smile grew broader, and her humming louder. With the increased volume, the tune could be heard to be 'Here Comes the Bride'.

"Looks like someone's got a case of wedding fever." Phoebe said in a sing-song voice.

"And it's not even her wedding." Paige added.

"So what's up?" Piper asked. The humming had stopped, but the smile was still there.

"Oh, nothing." Paige answered. "Just your paranoid sister again. And would you kindly tell her that she should stop worrying about her niece."

"Stop worrying about your niece." Piper said to Phoebe, the smile growing, if that was possible. "Wait, why is she worrying?"

"Because she doesn't approve of my daughters choice of dates." Paige replied angrily, shooting a nasty look at Phoebe. "Not that it mattered when we didn't approve of her date. Or husband for that matter." she added under her breath, but Phoebe heard her nonetheless.

"Would you please not bring up Cole?" she asked, almost pleadingly. "That was seventeen years ago. Are you really going to hold it over my head for the rest of my life? I made a mistake, alright? Everyone makes mistakes." The last sentence faded away, when Phoebe realized that she'd made her sisters point.

"Exactly," Paige said, punctuating her sister's thoughts. "Everyone makes mistakes, so even if you think Parker is making a mistake, we need to let her make it. And it seems like she really likes this guy. We just have to stand under her and catch her if she falls." To emphasize the significance of her little speech, she gave a very philosophical looking nod.

"Oh, alright." Phoebe surrendered, throwing her hands up in defeat. She put down the scrying crystal, and got up from the table to face her sister. "But if he lays a hand on her, or, energy ball, or anything like that, promise me that we can take him down in the most painful way possible." Paige grabbed her sister by the shoulders.

"Only if I get the first hit." Both sisters smiled, and gave each other a big hug. Pipers smile was now so big, that it looked as if it was going to jump right off her face, and do a little jig. Phoebe walked out of the attic, muttering something about baking cookies, and Paige and Piper looked at each other.

"If you don't stop smiling, I'm gonna orb it right off your face." Paige remarked, with as straight a face as she could muster. All this remark accomplished was making Piper smile broader, so now instead of doing a little jig, it seemed as if it could perform the whole of Swan Lake by itself. Paige orbed out in mock frustration, and left Piper standing all alone in the attic, whereupon she spent the next ten minuets rolling around on the floor and laughing joyously, before composing herself and going downstairs to see what Phoebe was really doing.

The bucket of chicken was empty, as was the bottle of faux champagne, and the mood had lightened considerably. They were now sitting on the edge of the building, looking out at the San Francisco sky line. They had just finished up a rather large fit of laughter, and were now gazing deep into each other's eyes.

"Your eyes are blue." Hunter stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes they are." Parker agreed, a small smile forming on her face from the obviousness of their conversation.

"And they're very beautiful." He added. Parker blushed.

"Well I have to say," Parker began. "That this has got to be the best date I've ever been on." This wasn't a lie. But seeing as this was the only date she'd ever been on, it pretty much won by default.

"And I would have to agree." Hunter said with a smile. And after a few more moments of staring and smiling, and in a seemingly random act, they kissed. It wasn't a very long kiss; well the first one wasn't anyway. It was just a regular kiss. But it left them both wanting more, so they kissed again, this time more deeply. After a few minuets of this, they pulled away, blissful smiles on their faces.

"Wow." Parker breathed.

"Wow." Hunter agreed. They both sat there for a few minuets in awe of what had just happened. Suddenly, Hunter got up, offering a hand to Parker who took it. "Let's go." Without questioning where they were going, Parker nodded.

"Okay, but we do it my way." Squeezing his hand, she orbed them out.

With a little mental direction from the floating Orbs next to her, Parker managed to get them to where they were going. When they rematerialized, she was surprised to find herself in a tree. It was a very tall tree, and she was sitting in one of the top branches.

"Ahhh!" she screamed, when she suddenly remembered she was afraid of heights, and hugged the branch tightly.

"Relax," Hunter cooed. He was sitting nonchalantly on the branch next to her, swinging his legs in the open air.

"Relax!" she yelled at him. "How can I relax when I'm sitting in a tree, like a thousand feet off the ground!"

"It's alright," he said, trying to calm her down. "The tree won't hurt you."

"It's not exactly the tree I'm worried about!"

"Well then if it's the height you're worried about, then why don't you stop looking down there, and start looking out there." He suggested, grabbing her arm comfortingly. Taking his advice, though still wary of the large distance between her and the ground, she looked out to where he was pointing. What she saw almost made her fall out of the tree. They were on the beach. Well, they weren't on the beach. They were in a tree. But the tree was on a bank, overlooking the beach. Her mouth hung open.

"Like it?" he asked hopefully. She didn't answer. She couldn't, because she still didn't have full control over her jaw. When she finally collected herself, she answered.

"It's amazing." She breathed. After a few more seconds pause she asked a question. "Can we go down there?"

"But of course." Hunter replied in a gentlemanly voice, and grabbed her hand and blinked them down to the beach. Parker laughed with joy as her shoes sunk into the wet sand. She took them off, letting the sand squish playfully through her toes. Still holding hands, they began to walk. They talked occasionally, but mostly just strolled in silence, enjoying each others company. After a good bit of walking, they finally plopped down on the shoreline, letting the tide dance circles around their feet. They sat there for a bit, until the tide began to rise; now soaking not only their feet, but the bottoms of their jeans as well.

"Let's jump in." Parker suddenly suggested, jumping very enthusiastically to her feet.

"What?" Hunter questioned, also getting to his feet, though with a lot less energy than she had.

"We're already soaked." She pointed out. "Let's just jump in." Hunter considered it for a second.

"Sure." He finally agreed, and grabbing her hand with more energy than he had shown before, the two of them bounded into the ocean.

"Well I had a great time tonight." Parker said, dripping. Both were thoroughly soaked, and standing on the front porch of the Halliwell Manor.

"So did I." Hunter agreed. "We should do it again sometime. Say Saturday?"

"Saturday sounds great. Seven o'clock. And this time," she added. "Try to show up on time." She gave him a playful smile, before leaning in for what some would call an overly passionate kiss, which was only broken up when Paige rudely opened the door.

"Okay, okay. That's enough." She said, trying to shoo Hunter away with her hands. "Party's over. Shoo, shoo!" Hunter held up his hand and waved goodbye, before blinking out. Parker was sad at his hasty departure, but quickly forgot this and rounded angrily on her mother.

"Mom!" she yelled, as the two of them walked inside. "What was that for?"

"What was that for?" Paige repeated mockingly. "I don't know where you were just now, but that looked like a little more than a first date kiss."

"Okay fine," Parker admitted. "So maybe we went a little overboard. But you didn't have to be so rude about it."

"I thought I was being nice." Paige muttered under her breath. Upon hearing Parker arrive, and the shouts that ensued as a result of that, Piper and Phoebe entered the room.

"Everyone okay in here?" Piper asked. "You made it home safely, virginity still intact?"

"Barely," Paige muttered, but everyone heard her.

"Why," Phoebe asked. "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing." Parker replied, before her mother could answer. "Just Mom being overprotective again."

"I am not being overprotective." Paige said, trying to protect herself. "If you had seen the lip lock that was going on out there, you would've gotten the Jaws of Life."

"God." Parker sighed dejectedly, folding her arms.

"Don't you 'God' me, missy." Paige scolded. "Go up to your room until I can figure out what to do with you."

"I don't believe this!" Parker yelled, before stomping up the stairs. Once she was gone, her mother sighed.

"I don't know what we're going to do with that girl." She walked into the living room, and plopped down on the couch.

"I don't know if we _should_ do anything." Phoebe reasoned. "Sounds to me like she's just being an ordinary teenage girl, and her mother is being way too overprotective."

"I am not!" Paige insisted. Her sisters gave her a sarcastic look. "Okay, so maybe I am." She admitted. "But don't I have the right to be overprotective?"

"Of course you do." Piper agreed. "But you have to ask yourself, is it fair to her that you exercise it?"

"I guess not." Paige sighed. "And I guess I should probably go up there and talk her down." Both her sisters nodded. Paige rose from the couch, and walked to the stairs.


End file.
